or Saint Boniface of Querfurt
born 0441; 974, Querfurt, Saxony
died March 14, 1009, near Braunsberg, Prussia; feast day June 19
Missionary and martyr.
A member of a noble family, he was attached to the clerical household of the emperor Otto III . After the martyrdom of St. Adalbert (997), Bruno entered a monastery, taking the name Boniface, and continued Adalbert's work in Christianizing the pagan Prussians. The members of a mission he sent to Poland, including Saints Benedict and John, were killed en route; Bruno wrote biographies of both saints, as well as an acclaimed biography of Adalbert. As archbishop, Bruno visited the rulers of Germany, Hungary, and Ukraine, seeking aid. He temporarily converted the pagan Pechenegs. He was killed on his way to his Prussian mission.